Are You Strategic?

Did you know that September is International Strategic Thinking Month? That alone might not mean much to you, but what if I told you that thinking strategically can make you more confident, improve your leadership skills, help you problem-solve, and give you the tools you need to make better decisions? Not a bad deal, right?

Strategic thinking is the process of gathering information, analyzing the data and the impact it could have on you and others, and planning to act in a deliberate and measured way. Many of us already think strategically in different aspects of our lives without consciously doing it, but once you put your intent behind the thought process it could be even more effective.

Measures of Strategic Thinking

Here are a few common traits, characteristics and capabilities common among effective strategic thinkers to help you identify areas where you can improve.

Flexible Thinking – You can shift and change your thought pattern to accommodate new ideas.

Active Listening – You successfully listen to what others are saying and are able to interpret the meaning behind their words.

Objective Assessment – You wait to make decisions until you’ve analyzed the advantages, disadvantages and consequences, and fully understand any necessary trade-offs.

Developing Your Ability to Think Strategically

If you’re generally analytical, curious and open to new ideas, you already have the makings of a powerful strategic thinker, and it won’t be a stretch to fine-tune your strategic thinking skills even more.

Strategic thinking can be taught and developed. You can improve your ability to think strategically by forming habits that will make the process easier. Some of these habits include:

Avoiding knee-jerk reactions; don’t act until you have all of the facts.

Allowing your creativity to come through in your thoughts and actions.

Trusting in your intuition and “gut” feelings.

Being willing to take a chance and accept a new point of view.

Connecting with others, valuing their perspectives and listening well.

Broadening your knowledge of all areas related to the topic.

Tracking your thought process so you can measure effectiveness and areas for improvement.

Your Turn to Weigh In

Do you consider yourself a strategic thinker? I do, but there are a few strategic thinking capabilities that I need to work extra hard to incorporate into my thought process. I find, for example, that the self-challenge element always takes a little extra work on my part. It usually results in a better and more well-rounded process, so it’s worth the extra effort.

Which of the strategic thinking characteristics outlined do you struggle with the most?

Alyssa Gregory is a small business collaborator and the founder of the
Small Business Bonfire, a social, educational and collaborative
community for entrepreneurs.

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Niubi

It’s not just about thinking strategically, it’s also about how inspired and creative thoughts are! Anyone can think strategically, but without a good idea that hasn’t been thought of before, you can’t really truly be successful. You only have to examine how people like Steve Jobs (Apple), Warren Buffet (Berkshire Hathaway) and Michael Hansen (DubLi) have used inspiration and strategic thinking in unison to see that it’s a really powerful combination.

NetNerd85

“Anyone can think strategically”

That is simply not true at all.

joejac

Hello and thanks a lot Alyssa, very nice article.

You said “Strategic thinking can be taught and developed” so my questions are:

1.- Where I can learn and develop myself the Strategic thinking and successfully apply it to my life and business?

2.- Is there a proven methodology that can be followed starting from one idea and then to develop an efficient strategy to follow, and a software tool as a guidance/mentor of the methodology that also help to measure the progress of the strategy implementation?.

Best Regards
joejac

http://www.avertua.com Alyssa Gregory

@joejac – Thanks for your comment. Here are a few resources that may be useful to you in developing strategic thinking skills. I have not reviewed all in-depth, but have heard good things about all three.

Hi Alyssa,
I’ve been told I’m not a strategic thinker. I was passed over for promotions because of this very issue a few years back.
Loved the Article. I’ll refer to it often as I develop these very important skills for me and my clients.
Thanks.